TN House Republican Leader Files Legislation To Limit Regulation Without Representation
Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Tennessee House Republican leader William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44) has filed a bill to allow county residents to be free from regulations imposed in cities they are not a part of.
Lamberth explained the legislation to The Tennessee Conservative:
“Years ago, Tennessee allowed cities to force annex sections of the county and citizens therein. Many of us fully supported doing away with this law and were successful in doing so. Unfortunately, urban growth boundaries remained as a part of TN law which creates a system of regulation without representation. The urban growth boundaries do away with the final remnant of forced annexation and allow county residents to be free from city regulations that they are not a part of,” Lamberth said.
House Bill 0028 (HB0028) as introduced deletes the requirement that municipalities adopt a comprehensive growth plan and have an approved urban growth boundary prior to annexing unincorporated territory. – Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 10; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 49 and Title 65, Chapter 4.
The bill is being sponsored in the Tennessee Senate by Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson-District 11) as Senate Bill 0075 (SB0075).
Critics point out that the legislation, as written, would allow property to be annexed into a city with the property owners being required to pay extra taxes with the possibility that they would receive no benefit from the city, such as fire department, sewers, garbage collection etc.
The bill was filed for introduction in both chambers on January 4th, 2023 and will begin to make its way through the subcommittee, committee process now that this session of the General Assembly has convened. Providing the legislation isn’t halted in the committee process, it will make its way to the floors of both chambers for a vote and if passed will head to Governor Lee’s desk to be signed into law.
If passed and signed into law, the bill states that the act will take effect on July 1, 2023, the public welfare requiring it.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
